Yvette Cooper is guilty of “staggering double standards”, a Brexiteer has claimed, after the Labour Shadow Home Secretary’s dogged defence of Angela Rayner.
The party’s deputy leader is currently the subject of a police investigation into the sale of her council house, and Ms Cooper was put on the spot by Richard Madeley during a fiery exchange on Good Morning Britain.
Responding to Mr Madeley’s suggestion that the issue was “a matter for the leader of the Labour Party”, Ms Cooper responded: “I think I’ll just say this, Richard, I don’t go around looking at the tax or legal advice that my colleagues have, and I don’t think you do, either. I think I understand why the Conservatives want to focus on this.
“There is an investigation underway and Angie welcomes that. But I understand why the Conservatives want to focus on that.”
Ms Cooper continued: “I think most people across the country actually want to know what’s the difference going to be for their cost of living, what’s the difference going to be made on our border security?
“What’s the difference going to be made about the National Health Service? Those are the issues. Let’s leave it to the HMRC to the police.”
She further stressed: “We don’t just routinely publish Personal Finance information in this country.”
However, highlighting the point on X, Lee Harris commented: “But it’s perfectly fine for Labour to routinely demand Tories publish their personal finances?
“Rules for thee, but not for me. Staggering double standards.”
Ms Rayner has been accused of providing false information about her main residence in a row about who lived in her former council house.
She bought a semi-detached council home in 2007, receiving a 25 percent discount under the Right to Buy scheme which was introduced by former Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. She is understood to have made a £48,500 profit when she sold the house eight years later.
In a statement issued on April 12, Ms Rayner, the MP for Ashton-under-Lyme, said: “I’ve repeatedly said I would welcome the chance to sit down with the appropriate authorities, including the police and HMRC, to set out the facts and draw a line under this matter. I am completely confident I’ve followed the rules at all times.
“I have always said that integrity and accountability are important in politics. That’s why it’s important that this is urgently looked at, independently and without political interference.”
She continued: “I make no apologies for having held Conservative ministers to account in the past. Indeed, the public would rightly expect me to do so as a Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
“We have seen the Tory Party use this playbook before – reporting political opponents to the police during election campaigns to distract from their record. I will say as I did before – if I committed a criminal offence, I would of course do the right thing and step down. The British public deserves politicians who know the rules apply to them.
“The questions raised relate to a time before I was an MP and I have set out my family’s circumstances and taken expert tax and legal advice.
“I look forward to setting out the facts with the relevant authorities at the earliest opportunity.”
